Download Unit 3—Regional and Transregional Interactions 600 CE

Unit 3—Regional and Transregional Interactions 600 CE-1450 CE
Key Concept 3.1. Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks
Although Afro-Eurasia and the Americas remained separate from one another, this era witnessed a deepening and
widening of old and new networks of human interaction within and across regions. The results were
unprecedented concentrations of wealth and the intensification of cross-cultural exchanges. Innovations in
transportation, state policies, and mercantile practices contributed to the expansion and development of
commercial networks, which in turn served as conduits for cultural, technological, and biological diffusion within
and between various societies. Pastoral or nomadic groups played a key role in creating and sustaining these
networks. Expanding networks fostered greater interregional borrowing, while at the same time sustaining
regional diversity. The prophet Muhammad promoted Islam, a new major monotheistic religion at the start of this
period. It spread quickly through practices of trade, warfare, and diffusion characteristic of this period.
I. Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an increased volume of trade, and
expanded the geographical range of existing and newly active trade networks.
A. Existing trade routes flourished and promoted the growth of powerful new trading cities (Novgorod,
Timbuktu, Swahili city-states, Hangzhou, Calicut, Baghdad, Melaka, Venice, Tenochtitlan, Cahokia.)
Required examples of existing trade routes: Trade routes—construction of roads, bridges, and
large imperial states provided ease of movement and protection for merchants. Long-distance
trade brought wealth and access to foreign products that enabled local producers to specialize in
items suited to their region. Trade also enabled the spread of religions far beyond their
homeland as well as devastating diseases.
o
Silk Roads
Silk Road included land and sea routes—connected China to the Mediterranean since the
era of the Roman Empire. Any discussion of international trade must include this road.
2000 BCE—begins to
function as trade
route
100 BCE—Europeans
have interest in silk
600 BCE—Golden
Age of Silk Road
1200 CE—Pax
Mongolica the road
was used heavily
1400 CE- trade
declines
Hangzhou as a trade center
Classical civilizations such as the Romans, Han, and Parthians [Persians] maintained order
helping the development of overland trade routes.
Goods Traded along the Silk Road—silk, spices [used in condiments, perfumes, medicines,
magic potions], cotton textiles, jewels, horses, etc. Trade happened in stages with few
merchants traveling the entire extent of the road.
o
Mediterranean Sea
[map includes the
Middle Ages—look
at Phoenician
colonies for the
routes as well]
This connected
Western Europe,
Byzantine Empire,
and the Islamic
Empire
Venice as a trade
center
o
Trans-Saharan Trade
Trans-Saharan caravan
routes
th
th
7 -14 centuries
Timbuktu—trading city
example
Arab traders helped
spread Islam and expand
knowledge of Africa
The economy was
regulated by the monarchy
Exports of salt, gold, honey, slaves, and ivory
o
Indian Ocean basins
100-1500 CE
Calicut as a trade center
Great need to understand the
monsoon season and wind
directions.
Persians and Arabs dominated
trade with the Arabs
controlling the western part,
Indian kingdoms controlling the middle zones, and China controlling the eastern part
Sailors married local women at the end of the routes resulting in mixing of cultures and
th
creation of bilingual/bicultural families. During the 15 century the Ming Dynasty refocused
trade in the Indian Ocean sending Zheng He on expeditions. This trade was ended with
China returning to only local and regional trade.
B.
New trade routes centering on Mesoamerica and the Andes developed.
C.
The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods (silk and cotton textiles, porcelain, spices, precious
metals and gems, slaves, exotic animals) was encouraged by significant innovations in previously existing
transportation and commercial technologies, including more sophisticated caravan organization
(Caravanserai,
o Caravan organization—Caravanserai and camel saddles helped increase amount and
distance goods could travel
o use of the compass, astrolabe, and larger ship designs in sea travel; and new forms of credit
and monetization.
D. Commercial growth was also facilitated by state practices (Minting of coins, use of paper money), trading
organizations, and state-sponsored commercial infrastructures like the Grand Canal in China
o New forms of credit—bills of exchange, credit, checks, banking houses also allowed for ease
of long-distance trade—keeping records established business relationships which later
helped facilitate international business
o Hanseatic League
o How did the Hanseatic League facilitate trade? In 1241 cities along the Baltic and North Sea
Regions banded together to create common trade practices, fight off pirates and foreign
governments, as well as establish a trade monopoly. 100 cities joined this league. The effect
was a large middle class in Northern Europe and a precedent for large, European trading
operations which later affected the Dutch and English
Grand Canal in China
E.
The expansion of empires facilitated Trans-Eurasian trade and communication as new peoples were
drawn into their conqueror’s economies and trade networks
China—
o Sui [581-618]
 Wendi won wide support by lowering taxes, establishing granaries to ensure a
reserve of food supply in case of floods or drought as well as to keep the price
stable in times of food shortages.
 Yangdi killed his father Wendi to take the throne.


o
o
o
Restored the examination system.
Building of the Grand Canal established the foundation for cultural and political
unity in China as north and south economies were integrated. The Canal was built
with conscripted labor and high taxes which caused resentment.

Buddhism patronized by rulers
 Natural disasters led to famine.
 Attempts to conquer Korea failed bringing unrest and rebellion
Tang [618-907]
 Empress Wu tried to elevate Buddhism to status of state religion—after her death
there was a backlash against Buddhism
 Expanded territory to Tibet and part of Korea. Creation of tributary states
 stable bureaucratic system based on the civil service exam which was based on
Confucian principles [continued in Song]

meritocracy not aristocracy; leaders changed but the bureaucrats remained to run
the government; scholar-gentry [continued in Song]
 Trade and travel along Silk Road protected. New business practices including paper
money and letters of credit ‘flying money’.
 Overseas trade began with increased trade throughout the Pacific Coast and
Southeast Asia.
 Built a network of roads, inns, and postal stations.
 Gunpowder invented
 Fast growing rice from Vietnam caused increased population in the south
surpassing that of the millet growing north
 An Lushan revolt--following years of foreign influence which were resented by the
people especially the upper classes, a foreigner, An Lushan, led a revolt against the
Tang this resulted in increasing xenophobia and desire to return to earlier times of
“purity”. Criticisms of Buddhism increased.
Song [960-1279]
 Conflict with northern border area resulted in paying tribute
 Scholar-gentry rose in prestige as civil service exams were emphasized as a
prerequisite for government jobs
 Neo-Confucianism arose as a blend of Confucianism and Buddhism—promoted
respect for authority and family; reinforced gender and class distinctions
 Emphasis on scholar-gentry over the military weakened its ability to withstand
threats from the north
 Song continued to thrive in the south
 Overseas trade continued with the compass being used
 Printing and movable type
 Footbinding practiced to attract a good husband.
Byzantine Empire—
 Stood at a crossroad of trade between Europe, Africa, and Asia
 They profited from the Silk Road but also suffered as disease was brought along
the road
 Justinian’s reign is noted for his law code, the Hagia Sophia, and his wife’s role as
advisor
 Conflicts with the west arose with the differences in the two Christian churches
o
o
 Constantinople was the largest European city for centuries
 The land was agriculturally productive
th
 After the 6 century they smuggled silkworms out of China
 Women were isolated in separate apartments to protect their honor
 The poor lived in tenements with women important in the economy of the family
 1453 Constantinople was sacked by the Ottoman Turks
Caliphates—a theocratic Islamic empire—ex. Umayyads were Sunnis with a capital in
Damascus, they were replaced by the Abbasids who were Shiites. The Abbasids became too
large to rule effectively and failed to address the problems of succession
th
th
Mongols—13 -15 centuries-- Biggest effect of Mongols was that they were a conduit for
cultural exchange. They were also responsible for the spread of the Black Death
 Basic unit was the tribe with them forming a confederation in times of warfare
 Mongol women could speak at tribal councils
 Genghis Khan [died in 1227] Prior to Genghis rivalries between tribes/clans
prevented earlier unification. He managed to break individual clan loyalties and
construct military units loyal to him
 Genghis Khan created the largest land based empire in the history of the world
 Leaders were chosen for ability not family relations
 Successful because of their ruthlessness, organization, mobility, weaponry,
network of spies, cultural borrowing, and because you were punished for failure
and rewarded for success
 The Pax Mongolica resulted in increased trade as the roads were safe and
protected.
 They had a written language, adopted religions of those they conquered including
Buddhism and Islam, they used paper currency they had acquired from China, and
a postal system to carry messages.
 Russia—1237; Golden Horde; serfdom arose as peasants gave up their lands to the
aristocracy in exchange for protection from the Mongols; Moscow benefited as
tribute collectors for Mongols; kept Russia culturally isolated from Western Europe
including the Renaissance
 China—1271-1368-- called the Yuan led by Kublai Khan where Mongols and
Chinese were segregated, the examination system for government advancement
was abolished, and the Grand Canal was extended. Mongol women had more
freedom than Chinese women. Religious toleration. Used expertise from scholars
and artisans from other regions. Merchants given higher status in government
th
than under Chinese control. Failed attempts to take Japan. By mid-14 century
desire for wealth weakened government, overspending, banditry, famine, peasant
rebellion, plague, and poor leadership resulted in the end of the empire.
 Persia- In 1258 they destroyed Baghdad, the capital for the Abbasids. 1243 Seljuk
Turks defeated. Mongol threat to the Islamic world ended with their defeat by the
Mamluks of Egypt in 1260.
 They declined in part because of the death of Genghis Khan, overextension of
territory with unfamiliar terrain, failure to conquer Japan.
II. The movement of peoples caused environmental and linguistic effects.
A. The expansion and intensification of long-distance trade routes often depended on environmental
knowledge and technological adaptations to it
Viking long ships—traveled along coasts, in open waters, as well as up rivers
Arabs and Berbers used camels to travel across the Sahara Desert
Pastoral groups in Central Asia used horses to travel across the steppes
B. Some migrations had a significant environmental impact. Required examples of migration and their
environmental impact:
The migration of Bantu-speaking peoples who facilitated transmission of iron technologies and
agricultural techniques in Sub-Saharan Africa –Bantu acquired bananas from Southeast Asia
The maritime migrations of the Polynesian peoples who cultivated transplanted foods an
domesticated animals as they moved to new islands
C.
Some migrations and commercial contacts led to the diffusion of languages throughout a new region or
the emergence of new languages.
Modern-Day map of Swahili speaking nations. The Swahili Language is spoken in Tanzania, Kenya,
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Somalia, Oman, Comoros Islands & Mozambique. It is the
official language in Tanzania, Kenia & Uganda.
Modern-day Distribution of Arabic as an official language in the Arab World. Majority Arabic
speakers (blue) and minority Arabic speakers (green).
III. Cross-cultural exchanges were fostered by the intensification of existing, or the creation of new, networks of
trade and communication.
A. Islam, based on the revelations of the prophet Muhammad, developed in the Arabian Peninsula. The
beliefs and practices of Islam reflected interactions among Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians with the
local Arabian peoples. Muslim rule expanded to many parts of Afro-Eurasia due to military expansion, and
Islam subsequently expanded through the activities of merchants and missionaries
B.
In key places along important trade routes, merchants set up diasporic communities (Muslim merchant
communities in the Indian Ocean region, Chinese merchant communities in Southeast Asia, Sogdian
merchant communities throughout Central Asia, Jewish communities in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean
Basin, or along the silk roads) where they introduced their own cultural traditions into the indigenous
culture.
A. Muslim merchants set up communities in the Indian Ocean region
C.
The writings of certain interregional travelers (Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Xuanzang) illustrate both the
extent and the limitations of intercultural knowledge and understanding.
Travels of Ibn Battuta depicted on map above
D. Increased cross-cultural interactions resulted in the diffusion of literary, artistic, and cultural traditions
(Neoconfucianism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Hinduism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Islam in
Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, Toltec/Mexica and Inca traditions in Mesoamerica and Andean
America).
E.
Increased cross-cultural interactions also resulted in the diffusion of scientific and technological traditions
(Greek and Indian mathematics on Muslim scholars, return of Greek science and philosophy to Western
Europe via Muslim al-Andalus in Iberia, Spread of printing and gunpowder technologies from East Asia into
the Islamic empires and Western Europe).
Arab contributions with transmission of Indian knowledge as well as their own to the Western
world
Printing and gunpowder technologies spread from East Asia to the west
IV. There was continued diffusion of crops and pathogens throughout the Eastern Hemisphere along the trade
routes.
A. New foods and agricultural techniques (Bananas in Africa, New rice varieties in East Asia, Spread of
Cotton, sugar, and citrus throughout Dar-al-Islam and the Mediterranean basin) were adopted in
populated areas.
New rice varieties [champa] was fast ripening therefore population increased
B. The spread of epidemic diseases, including the Black Death, followed the well established paths of trade
and military conquest.
th
During the 14 century the plague spread along trade routes and through military conquest—
this wiped out large populations in China and Europe which eventually led to the decline in
feudalism in Western Europe
Key Concept 3.2. Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions
State formation in this era demonstrated remarkable continuity, innovation and diversity in various regions. In
Afro-Eurasia, some states attempted, with differing degrees of success, to preserve or revive imperial structures,
while smaller, less centralized states continued to develop. The expansion of Islam introduced a new concept —
the Caliphate — to Afro-Eurasian
peoples in Eurasia built powerful and
integrated people and institutions from
agrarian worlds. In the Americas, powerful
both Mesoamerica and the Andean
Caliphate—created after
area controlled by a caliph
and religious leader of a
with the Umayyads [661-
statecraft. Pastoral
distinctive empires that
both the pastoral and
states developed in
region.
death of Muhammad.-where he is the civil
Muslim state. It began
750]
I. Empires collapsed
and were reconstituted; in some regions new state forms emerged.
A. Following the collapse of empires, most reconstituted governments, including the Byzantine Empire and
the Chinese dynasties — Sui, Tang, and Song — combined traditional sources of power and legitimacy
(Patriarchy, Religion, Land-owning elites) with innovations (New methods of taxation, Tributary systems,
Adaptation of Religious Institutions) better suited to the current circumstances.
B.
In some places, new forms of governance emerged, including those developed in various Islamic states
(Abbasids, Muslim Iberia, Dehli Sultanates), the Mongol Khanates, city-states (Italian Peninsula, East
Africa, Southeast Asia, Americas), and decentralized government (feudalism) in Europe and Japan.
C.
Some states synthesized local and borrowed traditions (Persian traditions that influenced Islamic States,
Chinese traditions that influenced Japan
D. In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia, state systems expanded in scope and reach: Networks of city-states
flourished in the Maya region and, at the end of this period, imperial systems were created by the Mexica
(“Aztecs”) and Inca.
II. Interregional contacts and conflicts between states and empires encouraged significant technological and
cultural transfers.
Required examples of technological and cultural transfers
o Between Tang China and the Abbasids-robust trade occurred between the Tang and Abbasids
centered in Baghdad. Later the Abbasids defeated the Tang at the Battle of Talas River
o Across the Mongol empires
o During the Crusades Christians from Europe were exposed to new foods, goods, medical
knowledge, etc.
o The Islamic world had preserved ancient Greek learning and acquired new learning from
India which was transmitted during the Crusades. They also made advances in navigation
with the astrolabe and more detailed maps. The merchant class in Europe supported stable
monarchies which would protect their trade. The Church in Rome became more politically
involved
Key Concept 3.3. Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its Consequences
Changes in trade networks resulted from and stimulated increasing productive capacity, with important
implications for social and gender structures and environmental processes. Productivity rose in both agriculture
and industry. Rising productivity supported population growth and urbanization but also strained environmental
resources and at times caused dramatic demographic swings. Shifts in production and the increased volume of
trade also stimulated new labor practices, including adaptation of existing patterns of free and coerced labor.
Social and gender structures evolved in response to these changes.
I. Innovations stimulated agricultural and industrial production in many regions.
A. Agricultural production increased significantly due to technological innovations (Champa rice varieties,
chinampa field systems, Waru waru agricultural techniques in the Andean areas, Improved terracing
techniques, horse collar)
Chinampa Field System or "Floating Gardens" of Mexico
South American Waru Waru or raised beds next to water irrigation channels
Terracing. A means of successfully growing crops on a sloped mountain/hillside
B.
In response to increasing demand in Afro-Eurasia for foreign luxury goods, crops were transported from
their indigenous homelands to equivalent climates in other regions.
C.
Chinese, Persian, and Indian artisans and merchants expanded their production of textiles and porcelains
for export; industrial production of iron and steel expanded in China.
II. The fate of cities varied greatly, with periods of significant decline, and with periods of increased urbanization
buoyed by rising productivity and expanding trade networks.
A. Multiple factors contributed to the declines of urban areas in this period. Required examples of these
factors:
Invasions
Disease
The decline of agricultural productivity
The Little Ice Age
B.
Multiple factors contributed to urban revival. Required examples of these factors
The end of invasions
The availability of safe and reliable transport
The rise of commerce and the warmer temperatures between 800 and 1300
Increased agricultural productivity and subsequent rising population
Greater availability of labor also contributed to urban growth
C.
While cities in general continued to play the roles they had played in the past as governmental, religious,
and commercial centers, many older cities declined at the same time that numerous new cities emerged
to take on these established roles.
Invasions, disease, decline in agricultural production, etc. caused the decline
III. Despite significant continuities in social structures and in methods of production, there were also some
important changes in labor management and in the effect of religious conversion on gender relations and family
life.
A. As in the previous period, there were many forms of labor organization. Required examples of forms of
labor organization
Free peasant agriculture—Nomadic pastoralism
Craft production and guild organization
Various forms of coerced and unfree labor including serfdom and slavery
Government-imposed labor taxes
Military obligations
B.
As in the previous period, social structures were shaped largely by class and caste hierarchies. Patriarchy
persisted; however, in some areas women exercised more power and influence, most notably among the
Mongols and in West Africa, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
C.
New forms of coerced labor appeared, including serfdom in Europe and Japan and the elaboration of the
mit’a in the Incan Empire. Free peasants resisted attempts to raise dues and taxes by staging revolts. The
demand for slaves for both military and domestic purposes increased, particularly in central Eurasia, parts
of Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean.
Teach one illustrative example of regions where free peasants revolted either from the list below or
an example of your choice:
o In China some resisted attempts to raise dues/taxes by revolting such as the An Lushan
o The Byzantine Empire
D. The diffusion of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Neoconfucianism often led to significant changes in
gender relations and family structure.
Terms to Know:
1. facilitate
2. state
3. infrastructure
4. pathogens
5. zones of interaction
6. conscription
7. dar-al-Islam
8. caliph/caliphate
9. scholar-gentry
10. meritocracy
11. bills of exchange